Pure Casino UK Guide

Amatic Games at UK Online Casinos: How They Work

Updated October 2026
Licensed
gbAvailable in GB
Fast payouts
18+ Only

Amatic supplies gaming software to operators, so the casino hosting a title—not Amatic itself—handles the player relationship.

From Austrian Supplier to UK Casino Lobby

Amatic Industries GmbH began in Austria in 1993, not as a casino brand seeking players, but as a business-to-business software supplier. That distinction explains why its name can appear in discussions of British slots without appearing above a casino’s door. The company makes gaming software for operators; it does not run a consumer-facing casino where customers open accounts, deposit money or place bets.

The difference is easy to miss because online games are encountered through the casino that hosts them. A player may see a title in a lobby, open it and associate the experience with that operator. The software behind it may have come from a separate company, whose name is visible only in a game’s information panel or in industry descriptions. Amatic sits on that supplier side of the arrangement. Its commercial customer is an operator or distribution partner, rather than the person spinning the reels.

That business model has roots in the wider history of gambling technology. Casinos have long relied on specialist manufacturers: one company supplies a machine or game, another decides where to put it and serves the people who play. Online, the physical machine gives way to software delivered into a casino’s digital catalogue, but the separation of roles remains. A supplier can create and maintain games without owning the casino account through which a player encounters them. The lobby is the public face; the supplier is part of the machinery behind it.

Amatic’s online operation took shape through AMANET, the name used for its online gaming division, launched around 2010. The division marked an expansion into internet-delivered games, rather than a transformation of Amatic into a gambling operator. The distinction matters: “online” describes the channel through which software reaches a casino, not necessarily the identity of the business taking a customer’s money.

For people looking for Amatic titles in Britain, this explains why a search for the provider does not lead to one official Amatic casino. There is no consumer-facing Amatic casino to browse. Instead, Amatic games may be included in the catalogues of operators that have made them available, with the exact selection depending on the operator. The supplier’s role is to provide the software, not to curate a British-facing lobby or promise that every title will be found in every casino.

Slots & Providers: UK Casino Game Guides

The same point applies to requests for classic, popular or newly released Amatic games. Those labels can describe what players seek, but they do not turn the supplier into a shopfront. A title’s presence depends on the arrangements through which the operator receives the software and chooses to list it. A casino’s catalogue is therefore the practical place where availability takes shape; Amatic’s corporate identity explains who made the games, not which particular titles a customer will find at a given moment.

This is also why “playing Amatic online” can mean two different things in ordinary conversation. It may mean playing a game made by Amatic, or it may suggest that Amatic itself provides the account and gambling service. The first describes a supplier’s product. The second misstates the company’s role. AMANET belongs to the online supply operation, not to a separate public casino bearing the supplier’s name.

Amatic Industries holds a UK Gambling Software (Remote) licence, account number 47992, which has been active since 27 April 2017. In this context, that is a software-supply credential: it does not make Amatic the casino operator or the direct counterparty for a player’s bets. The operator-facing structure remains the useful way to understand the company. Amatic supplies; the casino presents.

There is a small but telling change in perspective here. A casino lobby makes games look as though they belong to the place where they are played. Their commercial route is less visible, passing through software companies and distribution arrangements before a title appears on screen. Amatic’s Austrian origins, its business-to-business identity and AMANET’s online role describe that route at a high level, without making the supplier itself a destination for British players.

So the phrase “Amatic slots in the UK” is best understood as shorthand for games from Amatic appearing within British casino services, not a claim that Amatic operates a UK casino. The name belongs to the supplier behind the software. The lobby belongs to someone else.

Amatic Industries is a B2B software supplier, not a consumer-facing casino operator. It provides the games, while licensed operators manage the accounts and betting services.

How Amatic Games Reach British Casinos

An Amatic title in a casino lobby can look like a direct relationship between the maker and the player. In practice, the connection passes through a licensed gambling business. Amatic Industries supplies the software; it does not open a consumer casino account, accept a British player’s stake or pay out a win. The game reaches the screen because an operator has arranged to offer it.

That distinction matters because a game supplier and a casino operator occupy different places in the chain. Amatic’s software can be delivered to an operator through a direct technical integration or through an aggregator, which carries games from suppliers to gambling businesses. Either way, a player encounters the title inside the operator’s service, not as a separate Amatic product. There is no standalone Amatic casino for British players.

The division is not merely commercial. It determines who is accountable when money enters the system, when a withdrawal is requested, when a promotion has conditions, or when a customer needs help. Those responsibilities belong to the casino operator. Amatic provides the game; it is the operator that takes the deposit, pays winnings, sets and administers bonus terms, and supports the customer. The supplier does not take bets from people in Britain.

The regulator and the licensed business

In Great Britain, the UK Gambling Commission is the regulator for commercial gambling, including remote gambling offered to consumers. Its authority over a remote operator does not depend on where that operator keeps the technical equipment. A business cannot avoid the British licensing framework simply by locating servers or other key equipment elsewhere.

Best Android Casinos UK: Amatic and Operators · Stakelogic Slots in UK Casinos: Provider Explained

This is the reason the relevant question is not only who made a slot, but which business offers it for real money. Operators selling remote gambling to consumers in Great Britain must hold the appropriate UKGC licence. A foreign address, a familiar brand name or the presence of a well-known supplier does not replace that requirement. The licence attaches to the business conducting the gambling activity, not to every game displayed in its lobby.

The Commission grants operating licences to businesses and personal licences to individuals who perform relevant roles in the industry. These are different forms of authorisation: one concerns the company offering gambling, the other concerns people working in regulated positions. A software provider’s role in the supply chain should not be confused with the operator’s role at the point where customers deposit and play.

Amatic also holds a UK Gambling Commission remote gambling software licence. That authorisation concerns its supply of gambling software to operators; it does not turn Amatic into a casino or make it the business responsible for player accounts. A supplier licence and an operator licence answer different questions. One permits the provision of software within the regulated market; the other governs the business that offers gambling to customers.

That boundary can be easy to miss in a lobby, where a provider’s logo may appear beside a game and the operator’s identity recedes into the background. Yet the operator is the party with the customer relationship and the duties attached to it. The regulator’s framework follows that relationship.

Do

Don’t

Why the route matters

For a player, the route from supplier to casino is mostly invisible. The game is launched through the operator’s website or app, while the operator manages the account and the surrounding service. Behind that simple screen are commercial agreements and technical connections, but those arrangements do not transfer the operator’s obligations to the game maker.

Nor does the existence of an Amatic title prove that the supplier itself is authorised to accept stakes. It means that a licensed operator has made the game available through its platform. The casino’s licence is the relevant authorisation for the gambling service offered to the customer; Amatic’s licence covers its distinct place in the software supply chain.

The framework reflects a broader principle of British remote gambling regulation: responsibility follows the activity offered to the public, rather than the location of the machinery that helps deliver it. A casino may rely on external software and distribution services, but the customer-facing operator remains answerable for the gambling service. The technology can travel through several hands. Accountability has a named destination.

The same distinction explains why a casino listing and a regulator’s licensing record are not interchangeable. A list may describe where a game is offered; it does not itself establish that the company is licensed to offer remote gambling. That question belongs to the regulatory system and the operator’s authorisation. A game title is not a licence, and a supplier is not a substitute for the casino business.

Novomatic and Amatic Casinos in the UK: What to Know

The practical arrangement is therefore straightforward, even if its technical route is not: Amatic makes software available to the regulated supply chain, while UKGC-licensed operators provide the gambling service to British customers. Deposits, payouts, promotional conditions and customer support sit with those operators. The supplier makes the game possible. The operator carries the account.

Best casino sites in the UK

  1. Britsino
    Bonus: Welcome Package – Get your £2,200 + 2,000 FS · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  2. BeOnBet
    Bonus: 100% up to €500 + 100 FS · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  3. Revery Play
    Bonus: 100% up to€1,000+ 100 FS · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  4. EvoSpin
    Bonus: 125% up to €2500 + 125 Free Spins · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  5. WinBeast
    Bonus: €5000 + 500 FS + €650 Freebet · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  6. SpinFormula
    Bonus: 550% Up To £15,000 + 550 FS · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  7. Jetsetspins
    Bonus: 200% Bonus + 100 Free Spins + Free Royal Wheel · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  8. NightWin
    Bonus: £900 + 400 free spins · Payout speed: 1-3 business days
  9. NightLuck
    Bonus: Welcome Pack + 805% Up To 6400€ + 280 FS · Payout speed: 1-3 business days

A Familiar Slot Format, with a Book-Style Bonus Round

Amatic’s typical online slot is built around a recognisable arrangement: five reels, three rows and either nine or ten fixed paylines. The screen is compact enough to read at a glance, but the structure gives each spin several possible lines on which symbols may form a winning combination. The lines are fixed rather than selected by the player, so the game’s basic pattern stays constant from spin to spin.

That fixed layout belongs to a long history of slot design. The reels preserve the old visual grammar of the machine: symbols turn, settle into rows and are judged according to their positions. The online version may be presented on a screen rather than a cabinet, but its central appeal is still a small ritual of anticipation followed by a result. Familiarity is part of the format’s design.

Paylines provide one route to a payout, while scatter symbols provide another. A scatter win does not depend on symbols occupying the same particular line in the way a line combination does. That gives the game a second kind of pattern to watch for, though the precise conditions and awards belong to each individual title. The shared catalogue description establishes scatter pays as a feature; it does not make every game’s rules identical.

Typical Layout 5 reels and 3 rows

Paylines 9 or 10 fixed lines

Key Features Scatter symbols and "Book of" style bonuses

The bonus round most associated with the format is a “Book of” style free-spin feature. Its name signals a recognisable family of slot bonuses, but the label alone does not settle the details. The number of spins, the symbols involved and the way any award is calculated can differ between games. What remains common is the broad shift from the regular reel sequence to a special round in which free spins take centre stage.

That change of pace is doing more than decorating the screen. A bonus round divides play into two moods: the steady repetition of the base game and the anticipation attached to a feature that appears less often. The familiar book motif gives that transition a clear visual cue. It is an old-fashioned storytelling device pressed into the service of a very modern interface.

The format is therefore easy to describe without pretending that every Amatic title is interchangeable. Five reels and three rows establish the frame; fixed paylines define the regular route to combinations; scatters add a separate way to qualify for awards; and the book-style feature supplies a free-spin interlude. Within that frame, individual games can still differ in their symbols, themes and exact rules. The skeleton is shared. The costume changes.

For anyone comparing Amatic slot games, those mechanics are a useful starting point, not a complete verdict on a title. A fixed-line game has a different feel from one in which the player chooses lines, while a free-spin feature can be central to one game’s identity and less prominent in another. The simplest description is also the most accurate: a familiar video-slot structure, with a bonus round built around the book motif. No mystery required.

BGaming Casinos in the UK: What the Listings Show

Browser Play, Mobile Screens and UK Stake Rules

Amatic titles are generally designed to run in a mobile browser as HTML5 games, so a separate download is not normally part of the experience. The game loads within the casino site, adapting to a smaller screen rather than requiring a desktop-sized display. That matters in a country where the phone has become an ordinary place for private leisure: a slot can sit among the same browser tabs as a train timetable or the evening news.

A browser-based game still depends on the operator’s site and the player’s connection. Screen size changes the arrangement of buttons and symbols, but not the basic distinction between a demonstration and real-money play. A demo, when an operator makes one available, uses no deposited funds and does not pay out winnings. Real-money play involves a gambling account and stakes. The images may look much the same; the financial consequences do not.

Free play can therefore be useful for getting a feel for a game’s interface, but it is not a preview of what a real-money session will return. Nor does the existence of a demo establish that the same title is available for cash play at that operator. Availability is a separate question, and casino game lists can change. The browser is only the doorway.

For real-money slots, the British rules are unusually visible in the rhythm of play. The maximum stake for a single game cycle is £5 for players aged 25 and over. For those aged 18 to 24, it is £2. The lower cap took effect on 21 May 2025; the £5 limit for older adults had already begun on 9 April 2025. These are limits on the stake in each cycle, not suggestions about what a session ought to cost.

Stake Limits

Maximum stakes are capped at £5 for players aged 25+ and £2 for those aged 18-24.

The age distinction reflects a policy choice: the same product is permitted with a tighter stake ceiling for younger adults. That is not a feature of the Amatic software itself. It is a condition imposed on online slots in Britain, shaping every compliant version played for money, whatever its visual style or supplier. A familiar screen, unfamiliar boundary.

There are rules about pace as well as price. Autoplay is prohibited for UK online slots, so a run of spins cannot be left to proceed unattended. Between spins, the game must enforce a minimum interval of 2.5 seconds. The pause is short enough to be absorbed into play, but long enough to make each spin a separate action rather than one continuous mechanical blur. The law has reached into the tempo.

This means mobile play is not simply the desktop experience compressed into a hand. The controls may be smaller and arranged differently, but the same stake ceiling and spin requirements apply. A phone does not create an exception; neither does a game’s fast-loading HTML5 format. Convenience belongs to the screen. The limits belong to the market.

Free-spin wording can also blur the line between entertainment and a promotion. A game’s own free-spin feature is part of its play, while promotional spins are an offer made by an operator and can carry separate terms. The distinction matters particularly when a player moves from a demo to a cash account: a bonus code or promotional spin is not the same thing as a free demonstration, and it should not be treated as cash before its conditions are clear.

Pragmatic Play Casinos in the UK: What to Check

For a UK real-money session, the key practical divide is therefore not mobile versus desktop, but demo versus funded play. A browser may make access simple, yet real-money slots are subject to stake and design rules regardless of device. Mobile changes the frame. It does not change the rules.

Finding Amatic Titles on Licensed Casino Sites

A casino’s general reputation does not establish that its current lobby contains Amatic games. Provider agreements and game selections can change, and a title may be absent even when the operator has carried the supplier’s games before. The practical check is the operator’s own current game catalogue: look for Amatic as a provider, then confirm that the relevant titles are available within the account and jurisdiction in question.

That distinction matters more than a list of names. A specialist casino review has advised checking the operator’s current provider listings before making a deposit, because availability was not confirmed individually for every site. The list is a starting point, not a promise that each game will appear in every lobby or remain there indefinitely.

Specialist casino reviews have identified these UK-facing operators as carrying Amatic titles: Betfred, Jackpotjoy, William Hill, kwiff, PokerStars, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Unibet, Virgin Games and Casumo. A separate set of specialist reviews has also named Sky Vegas, 32Red, 888casino, Betfred, Bet365, William Hill, Virgin Games, Betway, Betvictor and Betfair. Betfred, William Hill and Virgin Games appear in both groups; the overlap is a useful reminder that these are examples drawn from operator listings, not a single definitive directory.

Betfred, William Hill, Virgin Games

These operators appear in multiple specialist reviews as carriers of Amatic titles.

Bet365, Betfair, Betway

Specialist reviews have identified these licensed operators as hosting Amatic games.

Casumo, Unibet, PokerStars

These operators are listed in specialist reviews as providers of Amatic software.

The names should not be read as a ranking. Nor does their presence amount to an endorsement of every product or term offered by an operator. Any site taking real-money bets from customers in Great Britain must hold the appropriate UKGC licence. A provider listing answers a narrower question: whether Amatic appears in the operator’s games catalogue. It does not, on its own, establish anything about the operator’s suitability, current promotions or the availability of a particular title.

The words “Amatic casino” can blur two different things. Amatic is the game supplier; the casino is the operator that provides the player account and the games lobby. So the useful search within a licensed site is for the provider or for the specific title sought, rather than for a separate Amatic-run casino. Amatic games are distributed through operators, not sold as a standalone consumer service.

A careful check can be brief. Open the casino’s games section, use its provider filter if one is available, and confirm that Amatic is listed in the current catalogue. If the catalogue is difficult to search, the operator’s customer support can clarify whether its games are presently available. A general brand page or an older review may describe a previous selection rather than today’s.

For anyone comparing Amatic slot sites in the UK, the distinction between a named operator and a verified, current listing is essential. The examples above show where specialist reviews have reported Amatic titles; the operator’s own lobby remains the relevant check before a first deposit. Availability is a moving part.

Amatic Online Casinos in the UK: Supplier or Operator?

Software Versions and the RTP That Can Change

A game’s title and artwork do not, by themselves, identify its return-to-player setting. The same Amatic slot can be supplied in different RTP versions at different casino operators, according to a specialist review. That makes the figure attached to a game a detail of its configuration, not a permanent property that follows the title everywhere.

RTP is a theoretical measure of the proportion of stakes returned across a very large number of plays. It is not a forecast for an individual session: results can vary sharply, and the published percentage cannot say what a particular player will win. Nor does a higher RTP remove the uncertainty built into a slot.

Book of Aztec provides a concrete illustration. A specialist review reported versions with RTP figures of 90.57% and 97.63%. Those are distinct configurations of the game, not a promise that either figure applies at every casino carrying it. The reported values should be treated as a snapshot of the versions described by that review; software availability and configuration can change.

This matters when a slot review gives one headline RTP without identifying the version or operator to which it refers. A familiar game name may conceal a meaningful difference in its theoretical return. The casino’s game information is therefore more relevant to a particular listing than a general figure copied from a review elsewhere.

RTP also does not rank slots by how often they pay, how large a win might be, or how long a balance will last. It describes an expected return over extensive play, not the rhythm of an individual game. A percentage is precise; its application can still be conditional.

RTP Variations

Return-to-Player (RTP) percentages can vary by operator for the same game; for example, Book of Aztec has been reported with both 90.57% and 97.63% versions.

For Amatic software, the useful distinction is between the title and the version installed by an operator. A figure attached to Book of Aztec in one setting should not automatically be carried over to another. Same name. Different configuration.

Deposit Offers, Free Spins and the Wagering Ceiling

A promotion attached to an Amatic game is an offer from the casino, not from the game’s supplier. Amatic does not set deposit thresholds or decide how winnings from free spins are treated. Those terms belong to the operator, and a bonus advertised beside a slot can still come with conditions that matter more than the headline.

The clearest boundary is the UK Gambling Commission’s cap on wagering requirements for bonus funds. Since 19 December 2025, a UK-licensed operator cannot require customers to wager bonus funds more than ten times. That ceiling applies to the wagering condition; it does not mean every promotion has one, nor does it turn a bonus into cash. Other terms can still govern eligibility, the games that count, and when an offer expires.

Free spins need their own close reading. A spin may produce a cash balance, or it may produce bonus funds subject to wagering. These are different outcomes, even when the promotional wording gives them equal billing. A specialist review reports that 32Red, Betfred and Bet365 have offered free-spin wins with no wagering requirement: the resulting payouts are credited as cash. This is a report about offers described in that review, not a promise that the same promotion remains available or applies to every Amatic title.

Amatic Online Casinos in the UK: What to Check

The same specialist review describes a Bet365 offer requiring a £10 minimum lifetime deposit and distributing as many as 500 spins over 10 days. The conditions are specific to that reported offer. They should not be read as a standing offer, a general Bet365 rule or a minimum deposit required to play Amatic games. Promotions change; the operator’s own current terms determine what is live and who can claim it.

That distinction also matters to searches for a no-deposit Amatic bonus. “No deposit” describes a way an offer may be presented, not a property of an Amatic slot. Whether an operator has such a promotion, which games qualify and what restrictions apply are questions for its current offer terms. A free-spin headline alone does not establish that no deposit is needed, or that any resulting balance can be withdrawn without conditions.

Nor does a casino-wide welcome offer necessarily apply to every game in its lobby. The terms may specify eligible titles, stake conditions or a period for using the offer. For an Amatic player, the relevant detail is whether the named game qualifies and whether wins are treated as cash or bonus funds. A generous-looking spin count is less informative than that distinction.

The deposit figure in a promotion should not be mistaken for a universal Amatic minimum. The game provider does not prescribe what a casino account must receive; the operator sets its own deposit and promotional terms. A small advertised threshold, where one appears, may be tied to a particular offer rather than to access to the game itself.

Regulatory Risk

Offshore casinos licensed in jurisdictions like Curaçao or Anjouan operate outside the UKGC framework, meaning British consumer-protection and dispute resolution systems do not apply.

There is a separate safeguard for customers who choose to gamble. UK-licensed online operators must prompt customers to set a financial limit before the first deposit, and any reduction to that limit must take effect immediately. GamStop has also been mandatory for all Great Britain-licensed online operators since 31 March 2020. These requirements sit alongside bonus rules; a promotion does not suspend them.

A bonus is not a game feature, and a free spin is not automatically free of conditions. The useful reading is the unglamorous one: identify the offer’s scope, the treatment of winnings and any wagering requirement before accepting it. That is where the real terms live.

Crypto Claims and the UK Consumer-Protection Gap

Interest in Amatic games paid for with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency runs into a distinction that matters more than the payment method: whether the casino holds a UKGC licence. A specialist review did not confirm any UKGC-licensed operator accepting cryptocurrency for Amatic play. That is a finding about the offers it examined, not proof that the market can never change.

Wazdan Online Casinos UK: Amatic’s Role Explained

An offshore casino may advertise Amatic slots, crypto deposits and free spins together. Winstler, licensed in Curaçao, and MrJones, licensed in Anjouan, are examples of operators outside the UK regulatory framework. Their licence jurisdictions are not substitutes for a UKGC licence. Remote gambling operators serving consumers in Great Britain must hold the relevant UK licence, wherever their equipment is located.

The distinction shapes what happens when a promotion is disputed, a withdrawal goes wrong or account terms become contentious. A UKGC-licensed operator is subject to British rules and the associated consumer-protection system. An offshore casino sits beyond that framework; UK routes for regulatory complaints and redress do not apply in the same way. Nor should offshore sites be assumed to provide GamStop or UKGC dispute resolution.

A free-spin banner does not change the operator’s status. “No deposit” describes a promotion, not a regulatory category, and a crypto payment option does not turn an offshore casino into a British-licensed one. The attraction is easy to state; the protection gap is less decorative.

Playtech Online Casinos UK: Supplier and Operator

For anyone assessing where Amatic slots can be played, the relevant distinction is therefore not simply mobile access, a bonus headline or the coin accepted at checkout. It is whether the operator is licensed for remote gambling in Great Britain. Offshore alternatives may be accessible, but they operate outside the UKGC system and should not be presented as equivalent choices for UK players.

Casino Listings Are Not a Live-Casino Register

A list of casinos carrying Amatic titles answers a narrow question: which operators have included the supplier’s games in their lobbies. It does not establish that those operators hold a UKGC licence, nor does it record their regulatory status. That belongs to the Gambling Commission’s register, not to an editorial page.

The distinction matters because the arrangement is business-to-business. A UKGC-licensed operator may work with Amatic, but seeing Amatic in its games menu is not evidence of a regulator’s approval of that casino. A listing is a snapshot of reported availability; a register entry is a regulatory record. They serve different purposes.

Amatic Games at UK Online Casinos: What to Know

Nor does an Amatic casino list establish a live-casino offering. Amatic’s online catalogue includes video slots and RNG table games, but no live-dealer games. Live casino play involves real-time dealing and a studio or streamed table; the shared word “casino” does not make those products interchangeable. There is no basis for treating an Amatic games listing as proof of an Amatic live casino studio.

The same caution applies to searches for a complete list. Operator lobbies change, and an editorial list cannot certify that every named game remains available at every moment. A casino platform may carry Amatic titles without being an Amatic casino: the operator runs the consumer-facing service, while Amatic supplies software.

“Amatic casino” is therefore convenient shorthand, not a description of who takes deposits or handles accounts. A list can point to reported game availability. It cannot substitute for checking an operator’s regulatory record, and it cannot turn a software supplier into a live-casino operator. Different records, different claims.

Are Amatic slots covered by GamStop self-exclusion?

Yes. GamStop is mandatory for all Great Britain-licensed online operators, so self-exclusion applies to the operator account through which you play Amatic slots.

Do Amatic casinos on GamStop have self-exclusion options?

There are no standalone Amatic casinos; Amatic supplies games to casino operators. All Great Britain-licensed online operators must participate in GamStop.

What is Amatic Industries and when was it founded?

Amatic Industries GmbH is an Austrian business-to-business gaming software supplier, founded in 1993. It supplies games to casino operators rather than running a consumer-facing casino.

Must a casino be Gambling Commission-licensed to offer Amatic slots to UK players?

Yes. An operator offering remote gambling to consumers in Great Britain must hold a UK Gambling Commission licence; Amatic supplies the software but does not operate the casino.

Are Amatic games licensed and legal to play in the UK?

Amatic Industries holds a UK Gambling Software (Remote) licence, active since 27 April 2017. Players can access its games through operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.

Responsible Gambling

Material created by the team Pure Casino UK Guide